While 80% of theatre groups said environmental sustainability was extremely or very relevant to their business and 67% said they had a policy on this, nearly 40% said it was a challenge to embed this into day-to-day operations.

Similarly, more than 60% of dance groups said that being environmentally friendly was relevant to their company, 80% had an updated green policy, but 43% found it was a challenge to implant green policies in their daily work.

Alison Tickell, chief executive of Julie’s Bicycle, said the survey had identified theatres as “leaders” in this area. She added: “The dance community, while not so active, is absolutely recognising the issues and opportunities sustainability presents.”

However, Tickell warned that there was still progress to be made: “We need to capture the imagination of boards and chief executives by making the case for environmental sustainability stronger; telling the stories, motivating and championing new ideas, and cementing the compelling business case.”

The report surveyed nearly 340 organisations, with almost a third of respondents coming from the theatre
sector and 6% from dance.

Across all groups taking part – which also included combined arts, museums, galleries and commercial music companies – those organisations based in a building were found to be more likely to take environmental action.